Phishing, Fraud, Viruses & Scams

May 4, 2017January 31, 2018

Scams are unfortunately, not a new thing. They are however always evolving but there is a pattern of the types of phone scams that are run.

Phishing Scams

These are the scams that you’ll typically get through email. However, there’s been a rise in phone call scams involving people claiming to be computer support. They often state that they are from a big name company like Microsoft and that the computer has an infection. They’ll try to get you to allow them to access your computer. Don’t do it! If you are suspicious that they may have obtained access to your computer, please call a reputable computer repair shop.

Loan Scams

These are scams that will try to get information by pretending to be offering you a loan. They will also do things such as state you have an outstanding student loan, or payday loan.

Free Prizes and Vacation Scams

These are the scams where you seem to have won an amazing prize or trip somewhere, even if you never entered into a contest. That’s the first red flag. The second is that you’ll just need to give them a small fee in order to get your prize.

Fake Charities

These scammers will try to tug at your heart strings and get you to donate to their charity of choice. Often times these calls will work at getting you to give money to either a real sounding charities or they’ll use the names of legitimate organizations.

Medical Alert/Scams Targeting Seniors

These scams will offer something like a free medical alert system or discounts on prescription drugs.

Phony Debt Collectors

These scammers call and like Loan Scams will try to get you to either give information out or state that you have an outstanding debt. If you get a call from a debt collector ask for their name, number and company information, then hang up. After this you can check with your creditor about the calls to verify if the debt
collector is real.

Warrant Scams

They will sometimes claim to be from a federal agency such as the IRS, DEA, FBI, or the Sheriff’s office. They’ll say that there’s a warrant out and to get out of it you only need to pay a small fee. They all have one thing in common: they’ll say in order to get out of trouble you will need to pay a fee.

Other Scams

There are other scams out there such as them pretending to be a grandchild in need of urgent help. Calls that only have one ring, if you do not recognize the number do not call back.